The Ireland lock Joe McCarthy is a doubt for the British & Irish Lions’ second Test against the Wallabies on Saturday because of a foot condition. Andy Farrell has called up Scotland’s Gregor Brown to bolster his second‑row ranks as a result, taking an already bloated squad to 45 players.
McCarthy was taken off after 43 minutes of the Lions’ 27-19 victory against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Farrell confirmed his early withdrawal was enforced. “It’s plantar fasciitis,” the head coach said. “It was niggling away at him there. We got him off. Hopefully we got him off in time.”
Brown becomes the latest addition to the squad after Scotland’s victory against Samoa in Auckland on Friday and was due to arrive in Melbourne on Sunday along with his compatriots Ewan Ashman and Rory Sutherland. With Darcy Graham having already arrived in camp, there are now 12 Scots in the squad. Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne have previously been called up. Farrell is determined to rest his frontline stars for the game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV on Tuesday.
In the first Test win, Farrell’s pack set the tone for the touring side, overpowering the Wallabies in a first-half onslaught. But he may be forced into a reshuffle in Melbourne. “I thought we got the start really right, especially the forward pack,” Lions inside-centre Sione Tuipulotu said. “The way they were knocking them back in the first 10 minutes sucked the life out of the Wallabies. Credit mainly to the forward pack, the way they started that game and really nipped them in the bud.”
Farrell was quick to warn his players to beware of wounded Wallabies this week, referring to the 2013 tour when the Lions won the opener in Brisbane before Australia levelled the series in Melbourne. Joe Schmidt is confident that his side will be bolstered by the ball-carrying power of Rob Valetini, who is fit again after a calf problem.
Tuipulotu is only too aware of the threats he poses. “I grew up with Rob Valetini, I know what he brings to the team,” he said. “Guys like Will Skelton, if they come off the injury list they’ll definitely add. But they’re all things that we need to prepare for. I thought we were pretty dominant but the good thing for us is that it was nowhere near our best performance. We’ve still got a lot to work on.
“They have to be [desperate], don’t they? Of course we expect that but I think the most important thing is we expect them to be desperate but not more desperate than us because we’re trying to close out a series next Saturday.”
Farrell will name his side to face the First Nations and Pasifika XV on Monday. Owen Farrell is expected to make his first start of the tour and is a contender for the captaincy, along with George, Wales’s Jac Morgan and the Ireland duo of James Ryan and Josh van der Flier.
